Case In Point
by Vanillasiren
Summary: This is a sort of AU in which the relationship between Rumplestiltskin and Regina in "our world" mirrors their student/teacher relationship in FTL. Regina Mills is a brilliant young law student. Professor Gold teaches her Contracts class. He's also her academic advisor. Things could get complicated.
1. Prolouge

Case in Point

Summary: At long last, a full-length "Once Upon a Time" story from me! I wasn't sure about this, but _someone_ was very insistent that I could/should do something other than a one-shot. So here goes …

This is a sort of AU in which the relationship between Rumplestiltskin and Regina in "our world" mirrors their student/teacher relationship in FTL (with some of my own head-cannon thrown in as well). The plot: Regina is a brilliant and eager first-year law student. Maleficent is the sharp but friendly second-year law student who takes her under her wing. And Rumplestiltskin is Professor Gold, one of the most respected, admired, and intimidating instructors at the school (I think this fits, since as you recall he was Mary Margaret's lawyer in Season 1). Young Regina finds herself in his Contracts class. Oh, and he's also assigned as her academic advisor. Other FTL characters will pop up in various roles as the mood strikes me. **Twyla Mercedes**, this one's for you!

Prologue: Before the Curse

Before the curse is cast, Regina is given a choice.

Well, she's given several choices, to be exact. She gets to chose who people will be. How they will be punished, in this new land, this land without magic.

Some choices are easy to make. Plucky young Snow becomes the timid schoolteacher. Her defiant Prince Charming becomes a comatose man whose name his wife doesn't even know. Jefferson, who deceived her so badly, is forever separated from his daughter.

When it comes to … _him_, however, the choice is more difficult.

Before she makes her decision, the curse offers her a vision of how it could play out.

Sometimes she thinks this curse is bigger than he who created it, and she who wields it, bigger than anything she's ever known, and that it has a sort of … _consciousness_, a mind of its own.

The curse shows her that she and Rumplestiltskin could have a history parallel to the one they shared in their world. And it shows her that she could _live _that history, plunge into that reality, in the span of a few seconds, then come back out, and make her decision.

It's probably better just to invent some vague back story for him and not bother with all this foolishness.

And yet … and yet …

_My wicked one._

Regina takes a deep breath, and plunges into the mists.


	2. Chapter 1

Case in Point

Chapter One: The First Day

She was going to be late.

This was _not_ good.

Regina Mills was painfully aware of her surroundings, and her status. She was no trust-fund baby, like so many of the students here. She came from a family (if you could even call it a family) that was middle-class at best, and the only way she was going to be able to afford this was by amassing a mountain of student debt. She shuddered to think of how much money she would owe when this was all over.

But surely it would be worth it, to put on her resume that she had graduated from the oldest and arguably most prestigious law school in the country. Harvard Law School.

Regina had done her undergraduate degree on a different campus altogether. Brown University, while not on the same level as Harvard, was at least still in the Ivy League, and that counted for something. Regina had been valedictorian of her high school class and had scored very high on her SATS. Those facts had come in handy when she applied for every scholarship known to man, and when she had applied to be a resident assistant. Her father had told her it would be cheaper to stay home and commute to school, but she needed to get out of that damn house – though not because of him.

Because of her mother …

No. She wasn't going to think about that.

The point was, resident assistants got free room and board. That, combined with her numerous scholarships and grants, allowed Regina to join a fairly small circle of people who graduated college debt-free.

Which didn't help her one bit when it came to landing a job.

"I _told_ you an English degree would be completely useless," her mother had snapped at her, when Regina had dared to call home and express frustration over her situation. "Unless you had gone for the Bachelor of Science in English Education. Then you could have been a teacher, which pays little enough as it is, but at least it would be _something. _A Bachelor of Arts in English is like a degree in Art History or Philosophy; pretty, but utterly useless. You have no one but yourself to blame for this situation. You should've majored in something more _practical –_"

Regina hadn't heard the rest, because she had slammed the phone down and hung up.

It was shortly afterwards that the idea of law school occurred to her.

At first, she had brushed it aside, but the more she thought about it, the more it seemed like an excellent fit. The law was essentially about interpretation. It was about arguing, debating, and analyzing and synthesizing information, and Regina had always excelled at that. Many law students, she learned, had done an English degree for their undergraduate work. If the degree by itself seemed rather useless, it appeared it was at least an excellent stepping stone for a career in the legal field.

So Regina had sat for the LSAT, and when she scored surprisingly well, she had applied to more that a dozen law schools, and Harvard had been among them. She'd known it was a long shot, even given her excellent test scores and academic record, but she couldn't resist trying. Imagine if she got in! Even her mother couldn't turn her nose up at that.

As it was, when Regina dared to mention she'd applied there, Cora had laughed in her face.

"Harvard? My dear, don't be foolish. Why would you even waste money on the admission fee? They'll never take _you_."

But they did. They had. She had been accepted. Of course, her mother had muttered about her "burning out" and taking on a huge debt burden and other things, but her father had hugged her tightly and told her how proud he was, and that had been enough to sustain her.

So here she was. Regina Mills, first-year student at Harvard Law.

Who was going to be _late_ for her very first class.

She sprinted at fast as she could in her high heels, wishing for the hundredth time that she'd worn flats. She was _not_ going to be late. Not if she could help it.

Even though she wasn't particularly looking forward to this first class of hers.

Regina had decided early on that she wanted to focus on family law. Her schedule for the first semester didn't have any family law classes – actually, she wouldn't get to that until next year – but most of her courses sounded interesting enough. There was Criminal Law, Torts, and Lawyering Process, all of which looked good to her, based on their syllabi. Regina was more nervous about Civil Procedure. Millie, the blonde-haired second-year law student whom she'd met at orientation, had warned her it was "a nightmare." But the class she was sprinting to was not Civil Procedure, or any of those other classes.

It was Contracts.

Regina imagined it was going to be rather dull.

Which didn't mean she wanted to be late for it.

Regina burst through the door to find the classroom already full.

"Nice of you to join us, dearie," said a voice from the front of the room.

That was hardly fair. She'd arrived in the nick of time, to be sure, but she clearly wasn't actually late, as students were still coming through the door at the other end of the room, and others were just settling into their seats. She turned to the front of the room to look at the owner of the voice, who must be the professor, feeling slightly breathless and a little peeved.

The man standing at the front of the classroom was middle-aged, with rather longish brown hair. He was dressed in dark, expensive clothing. He had a cane, which he leaned on with a sort of casual confidence. And he somehow, he seemed …

_Elegant._ The thought came to Regina, completely unbidden. _He's very … elegant._

The man's eyes were sparkling and intelligent, and as he looked at her appraisingly, Regina felt her face grow warm, and the tart reply that she had formed in her mind seemed to wither and die on her tongue.

"I'm … I'm sorry …" she stammered.

He smiled, which softened his demeanor considerably.

"Oh, no matter. I suppose you're not really late at that. Please have a seat, Miss …"

"Mills. Regina Mills."

He nodded at her.

"Ms. Mills. And I'm Professor Gold. Welcome to my class."

Regina muttered a "thank you," and scrambled to find an available seat. As luck would have it, she got one in the front row, where she'd been planning on sitting anyway.

Professor Gold checked his watch, and waited for a beat longer. Then he said, "Good morning," in a quiet but authoritative tone, and the soft mummer of conversation immediately died down to nothing.

"You have the privilege … and the burden … of being students at the best law school in the country. This is your very first year, and for some of you," his gaze fell on Regina, "this is your very first class."

_How would he know that?_ Regina wondered.

"Some of you," he continued, still seeming to keep his eyes focused on her, "May not be interested in this particular subject matter. You may even suffer from the mistaken impression that it's … dull."

_Okay, now this is just getting weird._ Was he reading her mind?

Professor Gold leaned forward slightly, his voice almost … _silky_, and filled with quite conviction. "I can assure you, nothing could be further from the truth. Contract work is a fascinating area of the law, one that seems deceptively simple until you really get into it, and learn just how complicated it can be. While not all of you may wind up going into transactional work, having a good understanding of the basics of contract law will still augment your practice of the profession. So it would behoove all of you to take as much from my class as you can."

He leaned back. "Now then," he said, in a lighter tone. "Can anyone tell me what the basic elements of a contract are? Anyone?" His gaze swept the room.

"Ms. Mills?"

Regina started. Why had he called on her? She hadn't even raised her hand. Maybe because hers was the only student's name he knew at the moment, since she'd so awkwardly introduced herself?

"Ms. Mills?" He repeated. "Do you have any clue, or should I move on to someone else?"

Perhaps she was imagining it, but there seemed to be something slightly mocking in his tone. Regina met his gaze defiantly.

"Offer, acceptance, and consideration," she said quickly.

"Not bad …" He smirked at her. "…considering that's something even a paralegal ought to know."

Regina was about to say something that would have no doubt got her into trouble, when someone interjected from the back of the room.

"Hey now, don't knock paralegals," a pleasant female voice said. "I _was_ one for six years, you know."

"Oh, so _you_ were the one doing all the work while I took all the credit," Professor Gold said, and a ripple of laughter went through the class.

"Still am."

The class laughed again, and he chuckled with them. "Careful now, dearie. Speaking of which, I believe now's as good a time as any to introduce my new teaching assistant. Ms. Draco, stand up, please."

Along with the rest of the class, Regina turned to look. It was Millie, of course, the second-year law student she'd met at orientation. Being a T.A. was a prestigious position, one that she hoped to obtain someday.

Millie smiled at the assembled students and nodded.

"If I'm busy, Ms. Draco can help you with any questions you might have. Or even if you just find her … easier to talk to." His eyes met Regina's again, briefly, before looking out at the rest of the assembled students.

"Now then," he continued, "As Ms. Mills so helpfully pointed out, the basic elements of a contract are offer, acceptance, and consideration. There is of course, much more to it than that. But before we dive in, let's go over the syllabus, and my expectations of all of you …"

A short while later, Regina's head was swimming with an overload of information. And it seemed to her that Professor Gold had assigned a positively obscene amount of reading for the next class. What's more, she didn't liked the fact that not only had he'd he singled her out, he'd _mocked_ her when all she had done was dare to answer his question correctly.

She didn't like him. He was smug, and arrogant, and intimidating, and …

_Elegant._

She shook off the last thought. Oh well. At least she only had him for one class.

Millie met her at the door. "Hello again, Regina. How did you like your first class?"

"Eh, it was alright."

Millie chuckled. "Oh, don't let Gold frighten you. His bark is worse than his bite. He probably only picked on you out because he thought you could handle it. So, when's your next class?"

"Not for another hour."

"Good, you have some time to recover. Do you know who your academic advisor is yet?"

"Um, yeah …" there was a rustling of papers as Regina rifled through her things. "They gave me the name … I have it here somewhere…." She looked at the paper in her hand, and gasped suddenly. "Oh no."

"What is it?"

Regina repressed a groan. "My advisor is Professor Gold."


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Warmth

"Good morning, Ms. Mills."

She turned with a start. Of course, it would have to be _him _who would see her like this. Regina Mills normally prided herself on being put together, polished. She took care to always wear tailored clothing that (she hoped) looked a lot more expensive than it was. Her outfits were her armor.

Armor she wasn't wearing right now, as she faced Professor Gold.

For God's sake, she didn't even have any make-up on …

_What the hell do I care if he sees me without makeup?_ She thought to herself.

She didn't. Of course she didn't.

Even so, she was painfully aware of her less-than-stellar appearance at the moment. She knew was rather plain to begin with. Well, at least her mother had always said so. But then, her mother had also taught her that the right ensemble and the right cosmetics could give her the illusion of great beauty.

There were no illusions today. Not only did she not have any makeup on, she was wearing jeans. _Jeans!_ And a rather large sweatshirt. Her hair was pulled back in a lifeless ponytail, and she knew there were dark circles under her eyes.

She hadn't had time to apply make-up. She hadn't had time to do laundry. She hadn't had time for a lot of things, including sleeping. It seemed to Regina all she had done the past two months was study. And read. And study some more.

She was exhausted, emotionally and physically. Professor Gold's smug face was the last thing she wanted to see outside of the classroom.

Still, she forced herself to smile at him. "Good morning, Professor Gold." She'd dashed into the coffee shop in the hopes of quickly ordering the most highly caffeinated drink she could, before stopping by her apartment to refresh up before her first class – _his _class, as a matter of fact. It was Friday, the last day of classes for the week, and she just wanted to get through the day, then go home and actually get some sleep for once.

Of course, because the universe was conspiring against her, the coffee shop was crowded and there was a long line. And all the tables were full. In fact, the only empty seat seemed to be at the table where Professor Gold sat, smirking at her.

Regina's eyes darted towards the people waiting to place their orders. Was it even worth it to get in line?

"If you linger too long, Ms. Mills, you'll be late for my class."

Damn him, he was reading her mind again! "If you linger too long, Professor Gold, _you'll _be late for your class," she snapped back at him, before she could stop herself.

He chuckled, seeming amused rather than offended. "Cheeky," he said, in his silky voice.

He titled his head, looking at her appraisingly. "I like this side of you, Ms. Mills," he said, in a quiet but decisive tone. "I like it very much."

Regina had no idea what to say to that.

Professor Gold gestured to the empty seat. "Sit."

"I don't think –"

He smiled. "Please."

Regina sat.

"You look … tired," he said, almost gently. "But then, law school will do that to you. It's been a while – longer than I care to admit – but believe it or not, I was in your place once, and I seem to recall it being a crushingly depressing experience. I'd tell you it gets better, but … well…"

To her horror, Regina felt her eyes swim with tears. Her mother's words about her "burning out" seemed to echo in her ears. What if Cora was right? What if she _couldn't_ do this?

Regina willed them not to fall. She was not going to cry in front of him.

He had the grace to look away, at least. "I'll get you some coffee, dearie," he said.

"The line …"

"Don't worry about it."

She caught of flash of pain on his eyes as he stood up. For a moment, she was tempted to ask what had happened to his leg, but she quickly thought better of it. That was far too personal a question.

As she watched, he walked calmly past the line of people. Several of them shot him dirty looks, but he paid them no mind. He nodded to the barista and said something she didn't catch; the woman smiled and nodded back. Evidently, he was a regular here.

He returned in a moment with her coffee.

"This is the strongest blend they have," he told her, as her handed her the cup.

Regina took it gratefully. "Thank you. Uh, how much do I owe you …?"

He tutted. "Don't be ridiculous."

Her eyes narrowed. "I don't need charity."

"Please, Ms. Mills, it's just a cup of coffee. Enjoy it."

Regina sipped her coffee, feeling the warmth of it flow through her.

"Now then, my dear, if I may be so forward, it pains me to see one of my most brilliant students –"

Regina snorted. "You don't think I'm brilliant," she muttered.

"What makes you say that?"

She looked down. "Because you're always … picking on me." She was aware how petulant that sounded, but it seemed she couldn't help herself.

He rolled his eyes. "Ms. Mills, whining does not become you."

"I wasn't –"

"You were," he said, in a tone that dared her to try contradicting him again. "If I 'pick on you,' as you say, it's because I find you _worthy_ of being singled out. The students I never call on, those are the ones that have to worry. Those are the one who are merely mediocre, who probably won't be here next year. But you … you're another matter entirely."

Regina stared at him. "So … you really think I'm brilliant?"

"I don't think, dearie. I _know_." The way he said it, she could almost believe him. She'd thought of herself as fairly smart before, but there were so many gifted minds here – including his – that she'd begun to feel out of her depth.

Professor Gold leaned forward. "You have it in you to be a great attorney, Ms. Mills. You could do so much, if you just let yourself."

"I … I don't know how."

"Well, then … let me show you the way."

She felt her pulse quicken. Suddenly, she felt more alert than she had in days.

"How?"

He smiled again. That smile of his. It made her feel … she didn't know what. "You can start by coming to my office hours, Ms. Mills. I am your advisor, after all. Do you know, you'll the only one of my mentees who hasn't come in to see me yet? I must say, it's rather disappointing."

"I've been … busy …."

"Yes, I know. Even so …" He glanced down at his watch. "Oh dear, now we really _are_ going to be late." He stood up again, wincing slightly. And even though he was the one with the cane, he offered his hand to help her up.

"Shall we?"

Regina grasped his hand. His touch seemed to warm her more than the coffee had…

Banishing the thought, Regina quickly let go, as she stood up. He inclined his head slightly, an oddly deferential gesture.

"After you," he said.

They were silent as they made their way to the classroom. He held the door open for her, and she went quickly to her usual seat in the front. There were indeed a bit late, but the curious murmur of conversation that was precipitated by their arrival together died down as soon as Professor Gold spoke.

He didn't call on her for the entire class period. Regina had no idea what that meant, if it meant anything.

The rest of the day's classes passed in something of a blur. Regina was just getting out of Civil Procedure, her last class of the day. That one, with the odd, short, hyper Professor Kant, always threw her for a loop.

In fact, it almost made her want to be back in Contracts. Professor Gold had been right; the subject matter was far from dull. In fact, she was becoming rather fascinated by it, despite her determination to go into family law …

"Ms. Mills?"

"Professor Gold!" She was startled. How was it that he always seemed to appear out of nowhere?

"You should come to my office." He said without preamble.

"I didn't realize you had office hours now."

"I don't, but …" He moved closer to her. "I'm making an exception in your case."

"You don't have to …"

"I want to." That voice. She had no doubt he was a brilliant lawyer, with that voice of his. He'd have a judge, jury – hell, even opposing counsel – eating out of the palm of his hand, with a voice like that.

"Come with me," he continued.

"I …"

"Please," he added, very softly.

Regina's voice was almost a whisper. "Alright…"

"Regina?"

At the sound of his voice, she turned, and gave a squeal of shock and delight. She couldn't stop the grin that spread across her face, any more than she could stop herself from jumping into his arms and kissing him soundly.

"Daniel! You weren't supposed to be here until next weekend!"

"I know." He grinned back at her. "I wanted to surprise you."

Regina laughed. "Mission accomplished," she said, and kissed him again.

Professor Gold rather loudly cleared his throat.

Regina came back to herself. Too late, she realized how ridiculous and juvenile her behavior was. She must seem more like a high school student than a law student right now.

"Professor, this is my … uh … Daniel," she managed to say. "Daniel, this is Professor Gold. He's … I'm in his Contracts class," she finished lamely.

"Nice to meet you," Daniel said gamely, offing his hand. Professor Gold looked down at it for a beat, and then shook it. Without another word, he turned back to Regina.

"Our meeting, Ms. Mills?"

"Uh … well …"

"I'm sure it can wait," Daniel said amiably. "Regina, you told me how exhausted you've been lately …"

"Law school is supposed to be exhausting," Professor Gold interjected. There was a sharpness in his tone that made both of them shiver slightly.

Daniel's pleasant smile was somewhat strained. "Even so …" He looked at Regina.

"Professor, I…"

"Monday. After your classes. Don't disappoint me, Ms. Mills," he said, and stalked off.

Daniel looked after him. "Friendly guy."

"Oh, he's not so bad."

"I hope not," he said thoughtfully. Then he turned his attention back on her, flashing her the smile that never failed to melt her heart. "Come on. Let's go have some fun."

"Daniel, I'm …"

"Exhausted, I know. So let's go back to your apartment and curl up together. That's fun enough for me. Haven't you always said you sleep better when I'm holding you?"

"Yes, but that's a far cry from the night on the town I promised you when you said you'd come out here."

"I know. But since I'm a week early, it's only fair." He put his arm around her, making her feel safe and warm and secure.

Still, as they made their way, Regina felt an odd twinge of guilt. Professor Gold had been willing to make a special exception for her …

She brushed the thought aside. It could wait until Monday. She'd been working hard. She deserved a break from all this.


	4. Chapter 3

Case in Point

Chapter Three: Deals

Regina was beaming as she entered the school.

Nothing much had changed, really. Law school was still overwhelming, she was still amassing a mountain of debt, and dread still curled in the pit of her stomach at the thought of her mid-terms. What's more, she'd had gotten nearly as much studying done on the weekend as she had meant to. Hardly any, in fact.

But it didn't matter. She'd gotten to spend time with Daniel – _Daniel_ – and he'd given her the most wonderful news.

They wouldn't have to be apart anymore…

"Hello, Ms. Mills."

He startled her. He always startled her. She ought to be getting used to it by now, him seemingly materializing out of thin air…

Frowning slightly, she turned. "Professor Gold," she greeted him with forced calm.

"How was your weekend?" He smirked at her. "Pleasant, I trust? I don't imagine you got much work done …"

Regina felt her face grow warm. "That's … that's none of your business …" she stammered.

He quirked a brow at her, and then chuckled. "It appears I've embarrassed you, dearie. I'm sorry."

"No, you're not," she said.

The smile left his lips, but not his eyes. "No," he admitted softly. "I'm not. But please, accept my apology anyway. We must preserve the niceties."

"Fine," she muttered.

"Fine," he echoed smugly. "Well then, time for my class, isn't it? I know you're less than prepared today, so …" he leaned in, and his voice dropped to almost a whisper. "I'll make sure to call on you."

Regina leaned in as well. "I … I can answer any question you throw at me, professor."

"Hm. You'd better. And you'd better come to my office hours later, too. I need a student who is … _dedicated_, Ms. Mills."

"I_ am_ dedicated." She didn't know why she suddenly felt so sure of that, but she did. When she was in his presence, she always felt like she had something to prove. She felt the same way around her mother, actually. But somehow, with him it was much more … exhilarating.

"We shall see, dearie. We shall see."

Professor Gold called in her no less than five times during class, and despite the meager amount of studying she'd done, she managed to answer every question correctly, if not eloquently. Still, she found that verbally sparring with him had left her strangely energized, and the rest of her classes passed quickly.

Afterwards, she made her way to his office. She was very annoyed, after all of Gold's insistence, to find someone else there with him.

The man, who couldn't have been much older than herself, gave her a lopsided grin. She might have actually found him a bit charismatic, had she been in a different mood.

"Ms. Mills," Professor Gold said, seeming to sense her annoyance. "This is –"

"Jeffrey Harman. But you can call me Jeff, all my friends do."

" –And he was just leaving," Professor Gold continued smoothly.

"Oh, not until I've made the acquaintance of your latest and loveliest protégé, professor." He extended his hand to Regina, and when she shook his, he took her hand and kissed it. She found that she was beginning to warm to him despite herself.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Mills."

"You can call me Regina."

Jeff's grin widened. "Regina. Tell me, have you ever –"

"She has a boyfriend, you know."

Jeff glanced back at Professor Gold. "What? I was just being friendly –"

"I remember what happened the last time you tried to get friendly with one of my mentees, dearie."

"Now that was … a misunderstanding …"

"A misunderstanding? Ms. Draco gave you a black eye, I seem to recall."

"Which is a battery tort. She's lucky I didn't sue. Besides which, that was just _foreplay_." He turned back to Regina. "_You're_ not going to give me a black eye, are you?"

Regina laughed. "Only if you don't get out of this office. I have an appointment with Professor Gold."

"Hats off to you, then. I was once his protégé too. And it's served me well. I'm only a first-year associate, but I make more money than people who have spent years in the profession. Speaking of which … I've got some work to do. You'll get back to me about those contracts, won't you Gold?"

"That's Professor Gold to you, dearie." There was a slight edge to his voice now.

"Oh yes, _professor_, of course. Regina, a pleasure to have met you. Maybe I'll see you again in court someday … or at least at the negotiating table." He flashed a final, mischievous grin at her, and then took his leave.

Regina raised an eyebrow at Professor Gold. "So I'm you're protégé now?"

"Aren't you?"

When Regina didn't answer, his voice dipped to a low purr as he asked, "Don't you want to be? I promise, it will be worth your while."

An honest-to-goodness shiver went down her spine. His words, his voice, filled her with a feeling of foreboding, and at the same time a feeling of … well, something she didn't want to name.

"Let me guide you," he said.

"And what do you get out of it?" She asked.

"Someday, you'll do something for me."

"And what's that?"

He gestured to the chair in front of his desk. "Please, sit down, and we'll talk about it," he said.

Sometime later, Regina was contemplating the paper he had given her.

"An internship," she said.

"Yes. A paying one." That was extremely rare, she knew especially for a 1L.

"At the …" Her eyes widened. "The _Albert Spencer_* law firm? That's one of the most prestigious law firms in the state. How on earth did you manage …?"

"I know Albert Spencer, dearie. Worked with him for years. How do you think Mr. Harman got his high-paying job?"

"That's the firm where Jeff works … what?" She asked, as he made a face. "He said I could call him that."

"Yes, that's the firm where _Mr. Harman_ works."

Regina looked down the paper again. "So you gave him an internship there too."

"I didn't." She looked up. "This is just for you."

"And yet, you still haven't told me what you get out of it."

"I'll get out of it what I always get out of it, Ms. Mills. Another brilliant young lawyer in my debt. If I'm giving you more than I gave Mr. Harman, it's because I think you have even more potential than he did."

"You seem very intent on flattering me, professor."

"Miss Mills, if my intention were to flatter you, I would be talking about how stunningly beautiful you are." Regina willed herself not to blush as he continued. "You have a sharp mind, and I would not see it wasted. But if you can honestly tell me you don't want this …"

"It's just … Albert Spencer is primarily a commercial firm. I was … I was kind of hoping to go into family law."

"_Family_ law?" He sounded genuinely repulsed. "Oh Miss Mills, please don't tell me you want to waste your time helping heartbroken couples squabble over their possessions and fight custody battles in which they treat their children like possessions."

"That's not all there is to it! I mean, there can't be! I want to help families. I want to help _people_."

"You can't help people well enough in the field of contracts, Miss Mills."

"But professor –"

"Divorce court is no pleasant place, _dearie_, I promise you." There was such bitterness in his voice, and sadness, and even … regret. For an instant, Regina felt profoundly sorry for him, though she couldn't quite understand why.

"Marriages are contracts too," she said. It sounded stupid even to her own ears.

"Indeed. And they're more easily broken than most."

_If only they were_, Regina thought. Her father would never break his word, never go back on his vows, no matter how much better it would have been for all of them if he did, no matter how much her mother had hurt them both …

"Miss Mills?" His voice was suddenly much gentler. "Miss Mills, I didn't mean to upset …"

"You didn't." Regina swallowed against the tightness in her throat.

"Yes, well." For a moment, he looked almost awkward. "Your interest in family law notwithstanding, what's the harm in a brief little internship at such a prestigious firm, even if it's not your preferred field?"

"I don't suppose there's really any harm in it, professor. And I am extremely grateful for this opportunity. It's just that …"

_Daniel's going to move in over Winter Break._

"I understand you have a personal life, Miss Mills." _He was reading her mind again_. "But really, you can't afford to pass this up. Say you'll accept?"

"I …"

"Please."

"Yes. Yes of course I will."

He smiled. "Good. And now, I believe I'll let you get back to your studies, since your mid-terms are coming up." As if she could forget that.

"I suppose it wouldn't look very good for my internship if I failed them."

"Oh, you'll pass with flying colors. And the finals too. Of that I have no doubt."

When he said it, she believed.

"It _is _late," Regina said.

"Indeed it is. I've kept you longer than I meant to. I have a bit of work to do myself before I leave, but still, I could walk you to your car … if you like."

"No. Thank you, but … I'll be fine." Regina stood up.

"Good night, Professor Gold."

"Good night, Miss Mills."

*JIC you don't recall, Albert Spencer (the district attorney) was the Storybrooke counterpart of King George. I don't think I need to tell you who Jeff is. ;)


End file.
